Louis Riel: Hero Or Traitor? Essay, Research Paper

Louis Riel: Traitor or Hero?

Louis Riel was an interesting character. He was Metis, educated in Montreal. When Canada bought land between Ontario and British Columbia from The Hudson Bay Company, Riel urged them to stand up to the government. For they were moving in and just giving away land that the Metis had been living on for years. Riel wanted to take action right away and made prisoners of the first settlers to come. This, I think was a bad move, first I think he should have voiced the opinion of the Metis people living on the land at the time, then if the government didn’t act on it, they could retaliate. But I do believe they were standing up for a good cause. How would we feel if the USA just passed an Act saying “go up to Canada, and we’ll give you free land!” I think we’d be a little upset!

Louis Riel could not have been a traitor because he was not Canadian. After the government of Canada settled the dispute by giving out land claims to the Metis (which was kind of deceiving seeing as they took their sweet a$$ time getting a land surveyor out there and were counting on most Metis on selling there land claims. Which is in fact what happened, most Metis moved over by the Saskatchewan River.) But Louis moved to the States, became an American citizen and taught Metis children schooling. So he left before Ruebert’s Land became part of Canada and moved to the States. Riel defiantly wasn’t a traitor against the Metis seeing as he lead them against white people. So we have ruled out the possibility of him being a traitor but have not concluded that he was a hero.

Riel was a martyr. He was killed for something that he believed in. To the Metis he was a hero and to the white Canadians at the time he was a murderer who got what he deserved. But what about now, has time showed that he was unfairly dealt with. I think that he was a hero, what do you think?

louis riel: his life story

Ben Newton

1983 Markmen Publishing